Source: Boss Gu

Musk announced that he would withdraw from DOGE, resign, and return to his businessman status.

"I think the basic choice facing humans is simple: either we end up being a multi-planet species, or stay on Earth until some kind of extinction happens."

In 2016, when Elon Musk made this remark on the stage of the International Astronautics, many people scoffed at it.

Eight years later, his SpaceX Falcon Rockets almost monopolized the US space launch market. Tesla's market value once exceeded the combined total of all traditional automakers, and he himself became the richest man in the world while controlling one of the world's most influential social media platforms.

The New York Times columnist Falhard Manju commented in 2022: "Musk represents a new type of super entrepreneur - they not only control huge wealth, but also directly shape our future. Their influence has surpassed the economic field, deep and cultural core."

Musk is not the same identity. He is an innovator, outstanding investor, management expert, public opinion leader, and red-top businessman. He is widely popular, but the Americans on Xiaohongshu scolded his mother in Shanghai out of the public opinion platform. In the eyes of some Americans, his businessmen who control the United States. Now Musk and his various products are boycotted and destroyed in the United States.

So, who is he?

Elon Reeve Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa on June 28, 1971, during the turbulent period of the country's apartheid system.

His father Errol Musk is an engineer and real estate developer, and his mother Meyer is a Canadian model and nutritionist.

The parents divorced when he was 9 years old, and Elon Jr. chose to live with his father, but the decision seemed to bring a lifelong shadow.

"My father was extremely bad mentally and emotionally," Musk recalled in an interview with Rolling Stone in 2017, tears rolling in his eyes. "He has done almost every bad thing you can imagine."

Although Errol Musk later denied these allegations, the complexity and alienation of the father-son relationship have been foregone conclusion.

Musk of childhood showed amazing intelligence and concentration. His brother Kimbar told Bloomberg Business Weekly: "Elon never plays. He has read the entire encyclopedia when all the kids are running wild outside."

It's not just an exaggeration for family members—at the age of 12, Musk wrote and sold his first software product, a space game called "Blastar", which earned about 50$0 income.

In Pretoria Boys High School, Musk's genius is just as obvious as the weirdness.

"I'm a weird guy, and getting beaten is commonplace," he later told Business Insider.

A violent incident was particularly serious. Musk was pushed down the stairs by a group of boys and beaten to a coma, and had to be hospitalized for treatment.

"South Africa's school bullying culture is very cruel, far beyond the United States," Musk said in a 2015 biographical interview with journalist Ashley Vance. "It taught me how to endure extreme pain, and maybe it helped me later in my entrepreneurial career."

In 1989, 17-year-old Musk left South Africa with a duffel bag full of clothes and flew to Canada.

He later admitted that he left partly to avoid South Africa's mandatory military service: "The only purpose of military service is to maintain an apartheid regime that I do not agree with."

But the greater driving force was his yearning for the United States.

"I want to go to the United States too much," Musk recalled in an interview with biographer Walter Isaacson. "I have a strange obsession that America is the 'land of possibility'. If you want to do big things, you have to go to America."

He really did it.

Musk first studied physics at Queen's University in Ontario, and according to his college roommate's recollection, the South African student was unique.

Navdip Alora, a former roommate at Queens University, told Geography: "He is always trying to figure out the basic problems of human civilization, such as how renewable energy can expand, or how we survive on other planets. These are nonsense to us, but they are real thinking about him."

Two years later, he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, USA, to receive a double degree in economics and physics.

Anson Vernon, a professor at Wharton, Pennsylvania, recalled: "He is not a typical business school student, and his understanding of physics and engineering is far beyond his peers. I often wonder why he wasted his time studying business, when he was obviously more interested in changing the physical world."

Despite being admitted to the Ph.D. program in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in Ph.D. in the past two days, Musk decisively dropped out of school and devoted himself to the Internet revolution.

"The Internet is breaking out," he later explained in an interview with 60 Minutes. "I asked Stanford for leave and told them I might come back, but I knew I would never go back. Dropting out was one of the best decisions I have ever made."

Forbes senior editor Richard Carlson said: "The unique combination of Musk's education—physics and economics—perfect bodyHis dual thinking emerged. He can understand both how atoms work and how markets work. This combination is rare in Silicon Valley, allowing him to see business reality when others only see science fiction. "

"We sleep on beanbag chairs in the office, working seven days a week"--Musk

In 1995, the Internet bubble was just beginning to swell. Musk, 24, and his younger brother Kimbar, founded Zip2, with less than $30,000 in funding, a software company that provides online city guides and business directories for newspapers.

A few years later, Jack Ma also brought an enterprise directory Internet guide and promoted it everywhere.

"At that time, 99.99% thought the Internet was worthless," Musk recalled in an interview with the Joe Rogan Experience podcast in 2018. "I tried to sell the Internet business to newspapers, and they looked at me like I was a lunatic." "

Life in the early stages of entrepreneurship is as cruel as all Silicon Valley entrepreneurial stories.

Kimbar Musk described that time to "Technology Review": "We slept on bean bag chairs in the office and took a bath at YMCA. We rented a computer at a time, Elon programmed all night, and in the morning I took over the sales. Then we went to buy the cheapest fast food and worked seven days a week. "

Musk is not only the founder, but also the company's chief programmer.

An early employee told Wired: "He was able to do what most programmers need to do in a few days. His code may not be the tidyest, but it always solves the problem. "

Media groups such as the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune eventually recognized the potential of the Internet and signed a contract with Zip2 to build an online business.

In 1999, at the height of the Internet boom, computer maker Compaq acquired Zip2 for $307 million, and Musk personally received about $22 million.

Silicon Valley legendary venture capitalist Steve Julvesen commented: "Zip2 demonstrates the typical trait of Musk - aiming at an overlooked opportunity, turning it into reality through unremitting efforts, and then exiting at the best time. He doesn't have overattached his first 'child' like many founders, but sees it as part of a larger plan. "

Less than a month after selling Zip2, Musk invested $10 million to start X.com, one of the boldest startups on the Internet at the time - a completely online bank. "The banking industry hasn't had real innovation in hundreds of years," Musk said in an interview with Fortune in 1999.

"We will change the way people interact with money." When asked how much he knows about the banking industry, Musk answered frankly: "It's almost nothing, but that's what we have to do."

X.com was soon merged with Confinity, founded by Peter Thiel, which has a payment service called PayPal.

The merged company is trapped in a fierce internal power struggle, ostensibly a battle of technology routes—Musk insists on using Microsoft's technology stack, while the engineering team tends toward Linux.

When Musk and his newlywed wife Justin were on their honeymoon in 2000, the board launched a "coup" to replace him with Thiel as CEO.

"I received a call from the board of directors telling me that the situation had changed," Musk later told Bloomberg Business.

"This is one of the most painful experiences of my career. You should never put your newlywed honeymoon together with the critical period of a startup IPO."

Despite being demoted, Musk still maintains his position as the company's largest shareholder.

In 2001, the company was officially renamed PayPal and was acquired by eBay for US$1.5 billion in 2002. Musk received about $180 million from the deal.

PayPal co-founder David Sachs said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal: "We all underestimated Elon. We thought he was a rich amateur, but he did not expect that he would later prove to be one of the toughest entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley."

This experience had a profound impact on Musk.

On the one hand, it provided huge funds to support his subsequent ambitions;

On the other hand, the traumatic experience of being expelled from the company he founded shaped his future management style.

Fortune tech reporter Adam Rasinski pointed out: "After PayPal was kicked out, Musk vowed not to let investors or the board take control of him again. Looking at the equity structure of Tesla and SpaceX, he would rather have a smaller dictatorial kingdom than be the puppet CEO of a large company."

In the fall of 2001, a private plane carrying Elon Musk and several aerospace engineers landed in Moscow.

The internet millionaire's mission seems crazy: buying retired Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles, converting them into rockets, and placing a small greenhouse on Mars to spark American interest in space exploration.

"The Russians regarded me as some kind of out-of-equipment weirdo," Musk later recalled in his TED speech. "One of themThe planner spat on my face. They are asking for $8 million per rocket, and I know the entire technology is worth no more than 2 million. "

On a flight back to the United States, Musk took out his laptop and began to calculate the cost of the rocket's raw materials. "I suddenly realized that the obstacle to space exploration is not technology, but cost," he told Wired. "With modern manufacturing methods and reusability, rocket launch costs can be reduced by more than 90%. "

In May 2002, he invested $100 million in personal funds to found SpaceX.

The company had many difficulties in the early days—all of the first three launches failed, burning millions of dollars each.

By the end of 2008, Musk was facing a double crisis: Tesla was on the verge of bankruptcy, SpaceX had only the last rocket and weeks of cash reserves.

"That was the darkest moment of my career," Musk admitted at the 2015 Southwest Conference, his voice trembled slightly. "I had to choose between Tesla and SpaceX, or both of them gave up. Every day I wake up feeling like a ton of bricks pressing on my chest. "

Just as funds were about to run out, SpaceX's fourth launch, the Falcon 1 rocket, successfully entered orbit on September 28, 2008. A few weeks later, NASA awarded SpaceX a $1.6 billion international space station resupply contract to save the company.

Since then, SpaceX pioneered a series of "firsts" in space history:

In 2012, the Dragon spacecraft became In 2015, the first commercial spacecraft to connect with the International Space Station successfully achieved a rocket's first-stage vertical landing. In 2020, it became the first private company to send astronauts into orbit. "Musk redefined possible boundaries," former NASA director Charles Bolden told the Atlantic in 2018. "Ten years ago, no one believed that private companies could safely send astronauts into space. Now everyone takes this for granted. "

Former NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman said: "In the space world, SpaceX is called 'Elon' because they broke all the rules. A project that traditional aerospace companies take 5 years, SpaceX can complete it within 18 months, and the cost is only one-tenth. "

As of 2024, SpaceX has completed more than 300 successful launches, and its Starlink satellite network has more than 5,000 in-orbit satellites, making it the world's superbMore than 2 million users provide Internet services. The company is valued at over $25 billion and has nearly 13,000 employees.

"If all this sounds impossible, that's exactly what Elon is characteristic of," SpaceX's first chief operating officer Gwen Shortwell told Vanity Fair. "His mantra is 'failure is an option, but giving up is not'. When you work at SpaceX, the sentence is engraved in your DNA."

On a sunny California afternoon, Musk stood in Tesla's design studio, tapping his fingers on the body of a red sports car. "This is the car that changes everything," he told the Auto Trend magazine reporter, his eyes flashing with pride. "Without Roadster, there would be no Tesla; without Tesla, there might not be the electric vehicle industry today."

Although he is now the spokesperson for Tesla, it is little known that Musk is not the founder of the company.

In 2003, Martin Eberhard and Mark Tappenning founded Tesla Motors, and Musk led the Series A financing in 2004, investing $6.5 million and becoming the chairman of the board.

"When I first met Martin and Mark, they had only one PowerPoint presentation and a small prototype in their hands," Musk recalled in an interview with Wheels in 2018. "But I immediately saw the future - not only Tesla's future, but the future of the entire automobile industry."

As the company faces challenges, internal conflicts intensify.

In the end of 2007, the board of directors voted to remove Eberhard from his position as CEO. "It was a tough time," Antonio Gracias, an early Tesla investor, told Business Insider.

"Martin is an excellent engineer, but the company needs a leader who can build credibility in mass production and financing. Elon is the only candidate who is crazy and charming enough."

In 2008, the global financial crisis broke out and the newly appointed CEO Musk faced nearly impossible challenges.

"We are facing destruction almost every day," Musk admitted at Tesla's 2018 shareholders' meeting. "It felt like dancing on a steel wire, underneath it was a deep abyss, and the steel wire was on fire."

As Fortune reporter Danielle Murzet described, "Musk in 2008 experienced the 'triple threat' crisis - SpaceX's rocket exploded on the launch pad, Tesla was on the verge of bankruptcy, and the global financial system collapsed. Oh, he was still experiencing a high-profile divorce. MostPeople would collapse under this pressure, but he miraculously survived. "

Musk bets on Tesla and even borrows money to pay rent.

At the last minute, Daimler invested $50 million, and NASA signed a $1.6 billion contract with SpaceX, two deals saving Musk's business empire.

Tesla's product strategy is to cut from the high-end market.

The first product, Roadster (2008), sold for more than $100,000, followed by the Model S luxury sedan (2012) and Model X SUV (2015). Cars and Driving describes the Model S as "not just the best electric car, but the best American car." "In 2017, the company launched the mass-market Model 3, starting at $35,000. "The Model 3 represents my ten-year mission," Musk said emotionally at the press conference. "Accelerating the world's transition to sustainable energy." "

In 2020, Tesla launched the Model Y crossover SUV, quickly becoming the company's highest-selling model. In the same year, the company's market value exceeded $600 billion, exceeding the combined Toyota, Volkswagen, Daimler, GM, Ford and Honda.

The Economist described it as "one of the most incredible stock market rushes in history. "

Tesla's success is not only reflected in its products, but also in its disruptive business model: building its own global supercharger network, abandoning traditional dealers to adopt direct sales, independently developing battery technology and building a super factory.

"Musk not only built a car company," industry analyst Keith Norton told Automotive News. "He reinvented the entire automotive ecosystem. Traditional automakers rely on a network of suppliers, dealers and gas stations; Tesla owns the entire value chain. That's why Detroit is still catching up. "

Tesla's success is not only reflected in its products, but also in its vertically integrated business model:

Build a self-built supercharger network, with more than 50,000 charging piles worldwide by 2024

Direct sales model replaces traditional dealers

Independently develop battery technology and build super factories

Develop fully autonomous driving technology

Tesla's market value exceeded US$1 trillion in 2021. Despite fluctuations since then, it remains among the world's most valuable automobile companies. In 2023, Tesla's global delivery volume exceeded 1.8 million vehicles, nearly three times higher than in 2020.

Musk's leadership in TeslaShows his other side as an entrepreneur: his ability to be good at marketing and branding, dare to challenge traditional industry rules, and his ability to combine environmental missions with business success.

Musk's desk is a small iconic object - a model of Tony Stark's helmet in the "Iron Man" movie, a gift given to him by director Jon Favreau. The decoration is quite symbolic, because like the billionaire inventor in the Marvel Universe, Musk seems unable to stop creating new businesses.

"I am not an investor, I am an engineer and manufacturer," Musk told the Financial Times in 2022. "The companies I invest in are solving problems that I think are important." These problems range from clean energy to brain-computer interfaces to social media and urban transportation.

In 2006, Musk proposed an idea to his cousins ​​Peter and Lyndon Reeve: to create a solar company that complements Tesla's mission. Musk invested the initial funding and served as chairman of the board, but put the cousins ​​in charge of the day-to-day operations.

"Musk's vision is always grand," Peter Reeve told Green Technology. "When others were still thinking about how to sell solar panels, he was already thinking about how to create a complete sustainable energy ecosystem—electric vehicles, solar and energy storage."

By 2016, SolarCity had become the largest solar installer in the United States, but also accumulated a lot of debt. That year, Tesla acquired SolarCity for $2.6 billion, a deal that sparked controversy on Wall Street. The Wall Street Journal described it as "the world's richest family rescue plan", questioning whether Musk used one company to save another.

Musk defended the deal at Tesla's shareholder meeting: "In the long run, we can't be a half-sustainable energy company. Tesla's mission is to accelerate the arrival of sustainable energy, not just to build electric cars."

In 2016, when most tech billionaires were still focusing on artificial intelligence, Musk announced a more radical plan: Neuralink, a company dedicated to developing computer interfaces that can be implanted into the brain.

"This is not science fiction," Musk explained to The New Yorker when he first made his debut. "We are already online creatures - your phone and computer are your third layer of brain. The problem is bandwidth: you type or speak through your thumb much less than you think. We need to increase the bandwidth of the human-computer interface."

The company's initial goal was to treat neurological diseases, but Musk's long-term vision is even more grand - he believes it is a necessary defense for humans to coexist with AI.measure.

"It is naive for people who want to limit AI," he said in an interview with podcast Joe Rogan in 2019. "A safer path is to co-evolve humans and AI through interfaces like Neuralink. We need to be symbiosis, not replaced."

In 2022, after years of animal trials, Neuralink received approval from the U.S. FDA to start human clinical trials.

Musk's most controversial business adventure began with a tweet in April 2022: "I offered to acquire Twitter for $54.20 per share, which was my best and final offer."

At first it was seen as a prank, but a few months later, the billionaire completed the acquisition for $44 billion and subsequently renamed the platform "X". "Twitter has always been a digital square that I never owned," Musk explained his motivation in an interview with Yahoo Finance. "It is an important global venue for dialogue, but the potential is far from being realized. I see the possibility of creating a 'super app'."

After the acquisition, Musk drastically reformed the platform - laying off 70% of his employees, rewriting the content, restoring his banned account, and trying to launch various new features and subscription models.

The New York Times tech columnist Casey Woodruff observed: "Musk's Twitter adventure was his most watershed action. Previously, he was regarded as a neutral tech visionary; now, he is a radical figure in the cultural war. This transformation may have changed his public image forever."

Unfortunately.

In January 2009, a hurricane just hit the US economy. The automotive industry is particularly hit – GM and Chrysler file for bankruptcy protection, and Ford is in trouble. In this economic ruin, Musk stands in the office of the Ministry of Energy, talking about the future of electric vehicles.

"He had a contagious enthusiasm," Dan Boning, a senior energy official in the Obama-era Department of Energy, told Bloomberg Business Weekly. "When Detroit's traditional automotive industry was almost wiped out, this guy who looked like a Silicon Valley engineer assured us that he could create the future of cars. It sounds crazy—but he did."

A few months later, Tesla received a $465 million federal low-interest loan, just one of the many support Musk companies have received. Although he often advocated the concept of free markets and criticized intervention, in fact, Musk's business empire was largely thanks to a large amount of public financial support.

The Atlantic Monthly described Musk as & in a 2021 review article"Angelic Investor of American Taxpayers", pointed out: "Without subsidies, there would be no Tesla and SpaceX today." Perhaps Musk's greatest skill is not engineering or design, but the ability to use public resources to drive private enterprises. "

In 2010, Tesla received a low-interest loan of $465 million from the Department of Energy's Advanced Technology Automobile Manufacturing (ATVM) project to develop the Model S. The loan was fully repaid in 2013, and Musk often used this as an example of successful investment. "That loan saved us at a critical moment," Musk admitted to the Los Angeles Times in May 2013. "But we paid it back with shareholder money and paid an additional $12 million. Not only did the taxpayer lose no money, he also made money. "

U.S. buyers can enjoy an electric vehicle tax credit of up to $7,500 to help Tesla sell early. The Wall Street Journal analysis shows that between 2010 and 2019, Tesla customers benefited about $1.5 billion from federal tax incentives, greatly reducing the actual selling price of luxury electric vehicles.

To be precise, this can only be considered economically as a tax cut, not a subsidy.

Tesla's most profitable The project is a zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) points system adopted by California and other states. The system requires automakers to sell a certain percentage of electric vehicles or buy points from pure electric vehicle manufacturers.

From 2010 to 2021, Tesla earned about $5.5 billion by selling these points to traditional automakers.

This revenue is a real subsidy because the revenue comes from taxes imposed on other companies and is a transfer payment.

The Los Angeles Times once pointed out: "In some quarters, ZEV points sales were the only reason Tesla achieved profitability. In a sense, traditional manufacturers such as Ford and General Motors actually fund their biggest competitors. "

In 2014, Musk announced plans to build a "gig factory" to produce the batteries Tesla needs.

Several states competed fiercely to provide various tax benefits and subsidies. Nevada eventually won, offering incentives worth about $1.3 billion, including a 20-year sales tax exemption and a 10-year property tax exemption.

Chris Brown, a former Nevada economic development official, later told the Nevada Independent: "The amount of subsidies we provide is really staggering, but Tesla has brought in more than 5,000 jobs and billions of dollars in investment." The question is, are all taxpayers benefiting from this deal? This question is difficult to answer. "

Similar situations have also occurred in Buffalo, New York,The state invested $750 million in SolarCity's (later acquired by Tesla) solar panel factory and offered long-term preferential rental conditions. Internationally, Tesla's Shanghai Super Factory received about US$1.5 billion in preferential loans from state-owned banks, while the Berlin factory received about 1.2 billion euros in subsidies from the German Federal and Brandenburg State.

If Tesla benefits a lot from subsidies, SpaceX's business model relies more on contracts: In 2006, NASA awarded SpaceX's then-almost unknown $278 million Commercial Orbital Transport Services (COTS) contract to develop the ability to deliver goods to the International Space Station. This provides the company with much-needed funds and credibility.

"That was a bold decision," former NASA deputy director Lori Gaffer wrote in his 2022 memoir Escape from Gravity. "SpaceX had less than 200 employees at the time and had never successfully launched anything. NASA basically bet on the future of commercial space programs."

In 2008, shortly after SpaceX's first successful launch, NASA awarded the company a $1.6 billion Commercial Supply Service (CRS) contract to perform 12 International Space Station resupply missions. After that, a follow-up contract worth approximately US$3 billion was signed.

In 2014, with the support of Obama, NASA launched a commercial manned program, awarding SpaceX and Boeing $2.64 billion and $4.2 billion respectively to develop the ability to send astronauts to the International Space Station. SpaceX successfully completed its mission in 2020, achieving its goal a few years earlier than Boeing, and receiving billions of dollars in follow-up missions.

SpaceX's relationship with the US Department of Defense began to be quite tortuous.

In 2005, Musk complained to TV Weekly: "The military seems to be more willing to continue to give billions of dollars in contracts to existing contractors than to give us the opportunity to prove that we can save them a lot of money."

SpaceX even sued the U.S. Air Force in 2014, challenging its competition-free contract to the United Launch Alliance (ULA). The legal battle ultimately prompted the Ministry of Defense to open up the military launch market.

By 2020, the situation will completely reverse. The U.S. Space Force awarded SpaceX and ULA a Safe Space Launch (NSSL) contract worth approximately $10 billion, and SpaceX received approximately 40% of the mission share.

SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service received nearly $900 million in subsidies from the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) to provide broadband services to rural U.S. areas.

"This isA win-win example," former FCC Commissioner Brandon Carr told The Washington Post. "He helped fund the deployment of new technologies that could also serve the broader commercial market. "

The massive support Musk's business has attracted has sparked a heated debate.

" Innovative entrepreneurs should be supported," economist Mariana Mazukato wrote in his book "Create and Request Value." Tesla and SpaceX prove the importance of public investment. The question is not whether or not it should be 'intervention', but how to ensure that such intervention is intelligent and efficient. "

Tesla and SpaceX have indeed created nearly 150,000 jobs in the United States, driving the growth of the electric vehicle market and reducing the cost of space launches by about 70%.

Musk defended in an interview with Time magazine in 2021: "Subsidies and incentives should target emerging industries, not mature industries." When Tesla got a loan, no one believed that electric cars were viable; nowadays, everyone is making electric cars. Money catalyzed the birth of an industry. "

"These are benefits for the rich," consumer advocate Ralph Nader told the Washington Post. "Musk took the money from it and then converted it into personal wealth. This is a business model with social risks and private benefits. "

For years, Musk has obtained tens of billions of dollars in stock options from his own companies, becoming the world's richest man, while these companies continue to accept support. "The irony of Musk is that he publicly criticizes intervention and 'overregulation' while his company benefits a lot. This double standard is puzzling. "

No matter how you evaluate it, it is undeniable that support plays a key role in the growth of Musk. The question is: is this a wise investment in public funds, or an oversubsidy of private wealth?

In May 2020, thousands of viewers watched a historic moment through live broadcasts: SpaceX's manned dragon ship sent two NASA astronauts into orbit. This is not only a milestone for SpaceX, but also a symbol of a fundamental shift in U.S. relations with private enterprises.

"It's a revolution in the way of purchasing," former NASA director Jim Bridenstine wrote in Aviation Weekly. "We moved from a 'cost plus' model to a 'fixed price' contract, from owning hardware to purchasing services. Musk not only changed Rocket technology, but also changedCooperation method with the aerospace industry. "

Musk's business empire has a much deeper relationship with the United States than the ordinary contract -- it has developed into a strategic partnership that makes Musk a key player in security and space.

In 2005, when SpaceX was a nameless startup, Musk tried to market its launch service to the Air Force. "We were completely ignored," he later told Bloomberg. "They looked at me like a fly flying into a conference room. "

Today, SpaceX has become one of the most important partners in the space field, performing various projects from conventional satellite launches to the highest confidential security missions.

Two former NASA astronauts, Bob Becken and Doug Hurley, sat inside the manned dragon spacecraft, waiting for historic launch, symbolizing a complete shift in NASA's relationship with SpaceX.

"When I joined NASA in 2006, SpaceX was regarded as a non-serious player," Phil McAllister, former NASA mission director, recalled to SpaceNews. "There is an arrogant mentality of 'non-NASA-made' inside. Within a decade, this shift has been shocking from almost exclusively relying on Russia to relying on a company that was once ridiculed by us. "

This partnership began with the Commercial Orbital Transport Services (COTS) program in 2006, where NASA awarded SpaceX a $278 million contract to develop cargo capacity. It was followed by a $1.6 billion Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract in 2008, delivering supplies to the International Space Station.

In 2014, NASA paid SpaceX $2.64 billion through the commercial manned program to develop the manned Dragon spacecraft. This decision was controversial at the time, with many members of Congress questioning whether it was wise to hand over astronauts to private companies. But By the end of 2023, SpaceX had successfully carried out 11 manned missions and transported 44 astronauts into orbit, proving the reliability of this model.

In 2021, NASA made a more controversial decision - choosing SpaceX's Starship as the Artemis project's human moon landing system, with an initial contract worth $2.9 billion. Blue Origin, which failed to bid, filed a legal lawsuit, but failed to change the result. Later, NASA added about $4 billion for additional moon landing missions.

"This is since the Manhattan project in the 1940s. The deepest space collaboration with private enterprises," space historian Professor John Logsden told Scientific American. "The difference is that this time, we don't own the technology, but buy services. This completely changed the economic model of space exploration. "

SpaceX's relationship with the U.S. Department of Defense has changed dramatically. In 2014, SpaceX sued the Air Force, accusing it of granting a non-competition contract to the United Launch Alliance (ULA) was illegal. "We just wanted to compete fairly," Musk said in Congress at the time. "Our rockets cost about half the cost of ULA and are made in the United States. Unlike the Russian RD-180 engines used by ULA, we won't let American taxpayer money flow to potential hostile. "

This legal battle ultimately prompted the Department of Defense to reform its procurement process. By 2020, the situation will be completely reversed - the U.S. Space Force awarded SpaceX and ULA about $10 billion worth of Safe Space Launch (NSSL) contracts, which received about 40% of the share. In 2024, SpaceX won a larger percentage of launch missions in the third phase of NSSL contract.

" Musk was originally an outsider and critic of the Pentagon, but now he is the first-choice supplier," wrote Jack Dech, senior editor of Diplomacy magazine. "This shift not only reflects SpaceX's technological advantages, but also shows Musk's impressive adaptability. "

SpaceX has become a key partner in the intelligence community, launching highly confidential spy satellites for the Reconnaissance Agency (NRO) and the Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA). These contract details are not usually made public, but they are worth billions of dollars, according to the Washington Post.

Starlink became an unexpected military asset with the outbreak of the Ukrainian warfare. Although initially provided in a humanitarian manner, the Starlink satellite network quickly became a key communication tool for the Ukrainian army.

"Starlink has proven its key value in battlefield communication," John Spencer, a former U.S. Army cyber warfare expert, told Defense News. "This makes Musk the de facto defense contractor, despite the unexpected role. "

Musk gained a unique advantage from the contractor role: First, the contract provides a stable revenue stream, especially crucial for SpaceX." NASA and the Department of Defense's long-term contracts provide SpaceX with stable cash flow and predicted reliable revenue," Barclays Aerospace analyst David Strauss told Investors Business Daily. "This allows companies to invest in riskier projects such as Starship and Starlink. "

Second, the mission funded the development of key technologies. NASA's commercial manned program provided funding for the manned Dragon spacecraft, which was subsequentlyUsed for commercial manned missions such as Inspiration 4 and Polaris flights.

But this relationship also brings risks.

Musk's company relies on NASA and the Ministry of Defense contracts, which may change with changes. Although SpaceX has supporters in both parties, Musk's increasingly public stance may make this balance more difficult to maintain.

"Musk is conducting a dangerous high-altitude tightrope performance. On one side is his freedom of speech, and on the other side is a business empire that relies on contracts. The tension between the two may ultimately be irreconcilable."

On April 25, 2022, Musk posted a photo showing him standing in front of Twitter headquarters with a coffee cup in his hand. This seemingly ordinary selfie marks an important turning point—the tech billionaire has officially transformed from a behind-the-scenes influencer to an open participant.

New York Times columnist Carla Swisher called it "Musk's transformation": "For years, he has been careful to remain neutral, just like most multinational CEOs. But after the acquisition of Twitter, he took off his mask and became one of the most influential voices in the digital age."

In an in-depth analysis by 2023, Samantha Weinstein, an investigative reporter from the magazine, found: "Unlike many American rich people, Musk's donation history shows a pragmatic rather than ideological approach - he donated money to those in power and those who might, regardless of party."

From 2003 to 2015, Musk's donation to candidates and committees on both parties was relatively balanced. Federal Election Commission (FEC) records show he donated money to the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee, while also supporting the Republican campaign committee and several Republican senators. "Musk follows the typical Silicon Valley donation model," Stanford University professor Neil Malhotra told the San Francisco Chronicle. "He leans towards Democrats on social issues, but Republicans on regulatory and tax issues. Who he donates to often depends on who can help his company."

Musk is particularly close to Obama. Tesla received a loan from the Ministry of Energy in 2009, while SpaceX benefited from NASA's commercial freight program. Musk visited the White House several times and was appointed as a member of the Export Committee.

Obama once praised after visiting Tesla's Fremont factory: "Musk represents the American spirit of innovation and is creating future work and technology." This relationship has made Musk labeled "darling" by the conservative media.

2During the 2006 election, Musk criticized Trump, saying he was "unsuitable for president." But after Trump's victory, Musk showed adaptability—accepting invitations to join the President's Economic Advisory Board and the Manufacturing Employment Initiative. "My participation in these committees does not mean that I agree," Musk explained in an email to employees at the time, which the Wall Street Journal obtained. "This is to provide constructive opinions and influence the direction of discussion. Not participating means an opportunity to give up influence."

However, when Trump announced his withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement, Musk resigned publicly, writing on Twitter: "Climate change is real. Leaving the Paris Agreement is not good for the United States."

Nevertheless, Trump continued to award contracts to SpaceX, while Tesla benefited from the easing of environmental regulations.

" Reporter Adam Cankland commented: "Although there are ostensibly differences, Musk's company thrives in Trump's regulatory environment. This shows his understanding of how to navigate the complex environment of Washington." In 2020, Musk initially expressed his support for Democratic primary candidate Andrew Young.

But after Biden took office, the relationship between the two deteriorated rapidly. Biden has repeatedly mentioned General Motors and Ford when talking about the electric vehicle industry, but not Tesla.

Musk publicly complained on Twitter: "President Biden, Tesla has created more than 50,000 U.S. jobs, invested much more than GM, but was not mentioned at all. This is a bit strange."

Musk then criticized Biden's climate, tax proposals and regulatory directions more and more.

In May 2022, he announced in an interview with the Financial Times: "I voted for the Democratic Party in the past, but I won't." A few months later, he publicly supported the Republican Party, predicting that he would vote for the Republican candidate in 2024.

New York Magazine columnist Jonathan Chatter wrote in a 2022 comment: "Musk's transformation seems to reflect the mentality of many tech elites - from supporting moderate liberalism during the Obama era to dissatisfaction with progressive cultural war issues and Democratic regulatory stances."

Musk's company maintains a stable and powerful lobbying presence in Washington, D.C., with millions of dollars spent per year affecting its business directly.

OpenSecrets data shows that Tesla's lobbying spending grew from less than $200,000 in 2010 to about $1.8 million in 2023, focusing mainly on electric vehicle tax credits, fuel economy standards, autonomous driving regulations and clean energyand other fields.

SpaceX's lobbying activities are more active, with spending growing from $120,000 in 2010 to $3.1 million in 2023, focusing on NASA's budget, commercial space, Department of Defense procurement rules and satellite spectrum allocation.

"Musk's lobbying strategy is smarter than most people realize," senior aerospace expert John Laughed told Aviation Weekly. "He relies not only on Washington insiders, but also at mobilizing user groups and social media fans, which constitutes a new type of pressure."

Tesla owners often participate in congressional hearings, while SpaceX supporters put pressure on lawmakers during critical decision-making periods, such as the process of winning NASA's lunar lander contract in 2021. This "bottom-up" lobbying complements the traditional "top-down" approach.

Musk's views for many years are actually mainly pragmatism, which is completely basic to consider the interests of the company.

While Musk founded two companies dedicated to sustainable energy, his views on climate do not conform to the typical environmentalist model.

"Rising carbon dioxide concentrations is a real problem," he told Science Focus in 2021. "But I support market-based solutions such as carbon taxes, not complex regulatory systems. Simple, direct, and effective - charging for carbon emissions."

At the same time, Musk opposes the rapid phase-out of oil and gas production, and said in his 2022 TED speech: "We cannot shut down all oil and gas immediately. This will lead to a collapse of civilization. We need a prudent transition."

Musk's position is particularly complex in terms of AI governance. As one of the co-founders of OpenAI, he later left due to concerns about the direction of the organization. In 2023, he founded xAI while continuing to warn of the risks of AI development.

Musk is one of the few executives in the technology industry who call for AI regulation.

In 2023, Musk signed an open letter with other technology leaders calling for a suspension of training for large AI models. In the same year, he participated in the discussion of the security framework at the White House AI Summit and was invited by British Prime Minister Sunak to attend the Global AI Security Summit.

The Interest columnist Thomas Burke pointed out in a 2022 comment: "Musk's multiple roles - SpaceX CEO, Tesla CEO, Twitter/X owner and public commentator - created an unprecedented potential conflict of interest. A private citizen controls key security assets while placing opinions on public platforms, which is something we have never seen before."

In early March 2024, the New York Times quoted information that Trump met with Musk and some wealthy Republican donors in Palm Beach, Florida.

The report said it was a private exchange and emphasized that Trump and his team were looking for contributions for the election urgently. Musk has a net worth of more than $200 billion. If he decides to support Trump, he may eliminate the huge financial advantages that Biden and his allies are expected to have on his own.

Musk then confirmed that the meeting did happen, but insisted that he was not Trump's donor.

On March 6, he tweeted: "It's especially clear that I will not donate to any U.S. presidential candidate."

After Trump and Biden's first debate, the chances of Biden's election were generally considered to be low. At this time, Musk began to decide to take the team under Trump's lobbying.

Two years ago, Musk and Trump insulted each other in public opinion, but Trump gave greater temptations to benefit.

On May 29, 2024, the Wall Street Journal quoted an exclusive report by people familiar with the matter as saying that Trump is considering hiring Musk as an adviser if he wins the election and returns to the White House by the end of this year.

Of course, no one could have expected Musk to attend the cabinet meeting at that time.

In July, Musk made a decision to support Trump and donated his first sum.

Immediately after Trump was assassinated, his chances of being elected rose rapidly. Under this expectation, Musk's donations continued to increase, and even launched a lottery for voters in seven swing states, with a total cost of over $40 million.

Statistics by the end of the election show that Musk spent at least $290 million for Trump's election.

You should know that Biden spent a year raising only $97 million, while Trump only raised $37 million in January 2024.

According to a previous report by CNN, documents submitted to the U.S. Federal Election Commission show that Musk spent more than $290 million in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. These donations are mainly to support Trump, with about $250 million of which flowing to the "US Action Commission."

But the donation is not over. Just a few days ago, US media reported that Musk also planned to donate another $100 million to the committee under Trump's team.

The huge amount of donations is not the identity of an adviser, but the identity of a cabinet, and the identity of Trump's close comrades.

Although he is called a part-time job, he can attend cabinet meetings. Some Americans even question whether Musk is the real president? So much so that Trump came forward to respond to this question.

He not only led DOGE, but also found the General Administration of International Development, the Social Security Department and the Pentagon,He also actively expressed his views on US foreign affairs, supporting Germany's choice of the party and supporting the Trump-led armistice between Russia and Ukraine.

On Twitter, he performed exactly like a politician, no longer had the scruples of businessmen.

However, he still plays the role of a businessman, but the businessman has already put on a red top.

I don’t know if he is the first merchant in American history to bring products to the White House and let the US president stand in front of the White House to bring goods in person. If so, he is definitely the most powerful red-topped businessman in the United States ever.

He also held meetings in Trump's cabinet while discussing business with political leaders from various countries.

Elon Musk has requested a meeting with Italian President Mattarella to save the Starlink deal, according to the Financial Times. At present, Italy is growing more and more doubts about the possible US$1.5 billion (about RMB 10.9 billion) transaction with Starlink.

In Trump's cabinet team, Musk will obviously have an opportunity for U.S. tax expenditures.

The U.S. Department of Commerce is reviewing a Biden-era broadband project. The $42.5 billion infrastructure project aims to provide high-speed, inexpensive internet to millions of American homes without internet connection. The subsidy was originally defined as a priority fiber, but the new U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik has made an internal statement that he plans to make the grant program "technically neutral".

As a direct beneficiary of this change, people familiar with the matter expect Musk's SpaceX company to significantly increase its capital share. Under the original rules, SpaceX, which operates the "Starlink" satellite Internet, can only get up to US$4.1 billion, but after Lutnik revises the rules, SpaceX expects to get US$10 billion to US$20 billion.

If you get it successfully and don’t cause a rebound in public opinion, then Musk will be too awesome.

When Musk cut his budget, it was interesting that Tesla then received a "Armored Tesla" contract of up to $400 million, which far exceeded the sum of all other armored vehicle procurement projects.

There are more than that order.

On Thursday, media reported that Musk's Starlink equipment had been installed in a FAA facility, a move paving the way for Verizon's existing $2.4 billion upgrade contract. There have been reports that the FAA is considering canceling Verizon's contract.

Musk's response also made the rumor's reliability sharply increase. He shouted on social media on Thursday that he was saving the American people from extreme disasters, and he also specifically emphasized that he had not received any results (at the moment).money.

Amid the constant public doubts, on February 18, former US President Trump issued a major statement at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. He said Elon Musk would be banned from participating in any project involving a conflict of interest.

But the four words of conflict of interest have aroused doubts. Which part of the order does not constitute a conflict of interest with Musk's identity? This is difficult to define. After all, the orders Musk is holding are now as high as more than one billion US dollars.

No matter what, even if Musk leaves DOGE and goes global, no politician dares to truly treat him lightly. After all, his close relationship with Trump and his relationship with the most powerful person in the world will make everyone attach great importance to him, whether as an enemy or a friend.

Musk is a great man and a mystery.